The party regroup. "Well, that went bad!" says Vale. "It was going fine until the wolf turned up," Jakardros adds. "I guess the lizards saw her as too much of a threat." Two shocker lizards still sit in the first chamber, hissing.

Feren volunteers to scout ahead alone but Rowaine warns against the idea. Feren moves silently ahead of the others, leading them unopposed to the passage ending in the secret door. Rowaine and Arrian dismount; Harley cannot comfortably traverse the narrow passageway. Squeals and hissing come from the northwest. The party wait; the noise seems to subside. Arrian and Feren head towards the secret door. Feren sees a small brass urn sitting on the floor at the end of the corridor. Arrian asks Jakardros about the object. "It's a small brazier," whispers Jakardros, "for burning bitterbark. The bark is not normally kept this side of the door."

Arrian examines the door, noting an iron pullring in its centre, hinges on the left edge and dim, flickering light emanating around its outline. He and Feren listen but hear nothing. Feren carefully opens the door a crack and peeks in. He sees a room lit by candles. Near the centre of the room is a small table surrounded by four chairs. A woman sits at one, writing. She wears a beautiful dark red dress and bears a rather aristrocratic air. She doesn't seem to have noticed the intrusion. There is a single bed to the left of the door. Feren whispers his findings to the others. Arrian motions to him to close the door; it pushes to with a click. At Arrian's prompting Rowaine moves up and Detects Evil but senses nothing. The door is made of irregularly worked stone and is only a handful of inches thick. Feren readies his bow. "On the count of three," whispers Arrian, "open the door."

Emily readies her bow and moves past the others, through the open door and into the room. She climbs over the bed into the corner and crouches. The woman rises from her chair, eyes wide.

"My, what's this? Visitors? It's been so long since I've had visitors. What on earth are you doing here? Where did you come from?"

Arrian moves into room. "I'm Arrian, servant of Corellon Larethian. Who are you?"

"My name is Lucrecia. Why are you here?"

"That can wait until we know who you are and why you're in a fort overrun by ogres." Feren moves into the room.

"Oh, there are more of you!" gasps Lucrecia. "How many more of you are there? You're not trying to take advantage, are you?" She starts backing off, looking worried. "Show yourselves! State your intentions, before a woman defends herself!"

Feren introduces himself. "To whom am I addressing?"

"I have already said that my name is Lucrecia!"

Arrian continues. "How come you are free, in a fort held by ogres?"

"That's my concern, not yours. You're the ones intruding here!"

"We intrude on a fort held by ogres and you need to explain yourself," argues Arrian.

Lucrecia pouts. "You wouldn't hurt a poor defenceless woman in her own bedchambers, would you?"

Arrian continues to look no higher than the woman's bodice. He is in two minds: for all intents and purposes Lucrecia appears as a noblewoman flustered by a sudden intrusion, yet his intuition is screaming danger!! Feren jumps on the bed.

"No harm will come to you if you explain yourself," Arrian says in a steady voice. "We are not violent people, we prefer not to enter into any conflict."

"I will not and I do not need to explain myself!" barks Lucrecia, looking put out. "Come on, are there more of you in there? You are either coming in, or you are leaving NOW!"

"Calm down, we do not mean any harm."

"What is this, skulking around underneath this place?"

"You are aware you are in a fort held by ogres, is that right?"

"No! It's not right!"

"What is right?"

"I'm here by Lamatar's invitation!"

"Lamatar?"

"The holder of this keep!"

"A Black Arrow?"

"Yes! We're on very good terms. He has come to my establishment many times."

"Your establishment? Are you from Turtleback Ferry?"

"Yes, I am!"

"Do you know Amiko, who runs the Rusty Dragon?"

"Oh, only by reputation. She'd probably know me, though. Most people do."

"I'm sure…" Troll moves into the room.

"Another one!" Lucrecia says in dismay. "Now come on, I will not stand for this unless you all come in and close that door behind you!"

"I'm sorry good lady, we didn't mean to burst in on you," Troll says in consoling tones.

"Well, you have! Most improper!"

"I'm terribly sorry…"

Rowaine moves in, Troll introduces her as "Rowaine the paladin". He continues, trying to buy time for his spell to reveal as much as possible.

"We don't mean to intrude. We were under the obviously mistaken impression that this keep had been taken…"

Troll thinks that there are three, maybe four magical auras in front of him, of minor to medium strength.

"…and we were just coming to investigate it. We had a friend who came here, and haven't heard from our friend in some time, and so became worried. We thought that because the keep might have been taken, that we should come surreptitiously. We shouldn't just come through the front gate because if the fort had just been taken…"

Troll senses that two of the auras come from about the middle of her person, not in view; one comes from around her neck, probably the necklace she wears. The unseen items radiate enchantment and evocation, the necklace radiates transmutation and abjuration. Oh, and necromancy.

Rowaine Detects Evil but doesn't feel like she can communicate her findings right now. Lucrecia's eyes dart from intruder to intruder.

"Is that all of you? Or are there more of you rapscallions? Come on! Well, are there any more of you down there or not?"

"I'm terribly sorry," Troll continues. "We just wanted to make sure…"

Arrian starts casting Prayer. Lucrecia notices.

This is going to go bad.

Lucrecia's demeanour shifts. "My master will see you soon… Mokmurian will be glad to make your acquaintance."

Troll points his index finger at Lucrecia and readies an Acid spell based on what Lucrecia does. Rowaine readies a Bless spell in the same way. Vale and Jakardros stay where they are. Feren readies his bow, steps and readies an action to shoot Lucrecia if she does anything more than breathe or talk.

Emily rapidly looses three arrows. Only her third shot strikes true. "Argh!" screams Lucrecia in a voice that changes timbre. She seems to shimmer briefly and grow considerably. Beneath her lovely dark red dress sprouts a serpentine tail. She briefly touches her necklace and reaches behind her. Feren releases his taut bowstring but the arrow does no more than tear her garment. Troll looses his readied Acid and barely misses her head. The caustic liquid hits the wall behind Lucrecia and splatters, hissing. Lucrecia's expression twists with evil. Troll backs off a step. Rowaine casts her readied Bless spell. Lucrecia draws two thin blades, one long and one short. She steps forward and stabs Feren in the chest with her rapier. The wound not only draws blood but seems to sap Arrian's willpower. Shalélu moves forwards and fires an arrow but the shaft misses. Arrian casts Bull's Strength on Rowaine, draws his sword and steps forwards. Troll Fiery Bursts Lucrecia. A conflagation engulfs her but she reappears unharmed. She locks her stare on Troll with malicious intent. Troll Spider Climbs up the wall towards the ceiling. Jakardros moves closer, kicks over the table and fires paired arrows at Lucrecia. Both miss, bouncing off the stone wall behind her. Vale raises his two axes, ready to strike should Lucrecia approach.

Emily's next three arrows all miss. Lucrecia's tail whips an arc behind her as she dodges. Feren swaps bow for rapier and stabs into Lucrecia's midriff, causing her to wince in pain. Troll summons a celestial dire badger and moves closer to the door. The badger appears behind Lucrecia and attempts to rend her tail but its claws fail to make an impression. Rowaine moves and smites with her waraxe, a telling blow. Lucrecia is now surrounded. She targets Rowaine with her two blades, striking at breaches in her armour. Three of her five stabs find their mark, including a nasty dagger thrust. Rowaine too feels her will evaporating. Lucrecia looks rather surprised that the armoured woman is still alive. Shalélu shoots twice, missing twice. Arrian casts Magic Weapon on Feren's rapier then steps in front of Emily and kneels before the 9.5 foot tall serpentine creature. Jakardros bends his bowstring three times but all three arrows simply bounce off Lucrecia's form. Vale yells a battle cry, jumps atop the overturned table, his muscles powering his battleaxe in a vicious chop. The blade simply ricochets off Lucrecia's side.

Emily steps back and sights Lucrecia. Arrian spoils her shot somewhat and all three of her arrows fail to bite. Feren steps in and stabs twice at Lucrecia with his rapier. Lucrecia's attention is diverted by the sudden appearance of the vicious badger, and Feren's first lunge sinks deeply into her flank. His second stab is turned away by Lucrecia's incongruously tough skin. Troll's Acid finds its mark this time and burns away at Lucrecia's dress and flesh. The dire badger snarls and claws but cannot penetrate. Rowaine steps into a flanking position. Her first righteous smite hits heavily but her return stroke is wide. Lucrecia's left hand reaches behind her and returns to view empty-handed. The door behind her opens and she starts to squeeze her bulk through the opening. Feren and Rowaine lash out as her defences drop, each scoring an opportunistic hit. Arrian and the badger do likewise but are ineffectual. Lucrecia survives and exits through the door. A number of prison cells with metal barred walls can be seen through the open door.

We end in the middle of the fifth round after Lucrecia's action. Shalélu, Arrian, Vale and Jakardros have yet to act.